Thursday, June 27, 2013

Part 119 - A Tough Hitch to Castella

It was
four thirty in the morning, and I was up and ready for the day. I packed my backpack last night,
and I had my cardboard hitchhiking sign ready for this morning that said
Castella, please. By 5:00
a.m. I was on the street, and of course, there was no traffic. I walked down the road towards a
café to which a number of cars were pulling into. My hope was that I would have
better luck there than in front of my motel.

After
an hour’s wait, I landed a ride with Brodie whose vehicle was loaded with
guitars and other string instruments. He
said he taught guitar, primarily in the San Francisco Bay area, and in his
younger years, had been a river guide on the Colorado River. It’s always a small world. He let me off at the exit to the
Chevron Station/Ammirati’s Market in Castella, and I walked the short distance
to the gas station. I
arrived there just as the owner was opening up for the day.

As soon
as I was inside the store, I went to the shelving that contained the hikers'
packages. I rummaged through them, but couldn’t find mine. I made a
second pass through the packages, this time using my "woman’s eyes,"
as my wife likes to call her search for something, and I found it - big relief.

On the
other side of the gas station parking lot was a patch of grass and a picnic
table. I walked over to the table to use it for sorting through my
resupply box and to repack my backpack. Forty-five minutes later, I was
ready to leave, carrying enough food to see me through to the town of Etna, my
next resupply point – one hundred miles and four days away. At the gas
station, I met Veggie, Sundog, Giggles, and Wight, who were also there to pick
up their packages.

Another image of the Crags.

The trail will wind its way to the top of the crags and then over a pass.